The Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released U.S. airlines’ August 2024 fuel cost and consumption numbers indicating U.S. scheduled service airlines used 1.686 billion gallons of fuel, 2.9% less fuel than in July 2024 (1.736 billion gallons) and 1.9% more than in pre-pandemic August 2019. The cost per gallon of fuel in August 2024 ($2.47) was down 11 cents (4.3%) from July 2024 ($2.58) and up $0.52 (26.9%) from August 2019. Total August 2024 fuel expenditure ($4.16B) was down 7.1% from July 2024 ($4.47B) and up 29.3% from pre-pandemic August 2019.

Year-over-year changes in fuel consumption and cost for August 2024 includes a 0.1% decrease in domestic fuel consumption, an 14.1% decrease in domestic fuel cost, and a 14.0% decrease in cost per gallon. Domestic fuel consumption decreased 2.8% from July 2024 to August 2024, while increasing 1.6% from August 2019. Increased fuel consumption reflects an increase in airline passenger travel over the same period.

 
Fuel consumed by U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service:

 
Fuel cost per gallon for U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service:

Total fuel cost for U.S. airlines (total) scheduled service:

Fuel Cost and Consumption data from January 2000 to the present can be found at https://www.transtats.bts.gov/fuel.asp. Summaries by month are also available.

Airline fuel costs may be affected by hedging, contracts that allow airlines to limit exposure to future price changes. None of the cost numbers are adjusted for inflation. The month-to-month numbers are not seasonally adjusted.

Individual airline numbers through June 2024 are available on the BTS website. 

Please Note:
The information provided within BTS statistical releases may not be based on 100% of reporting carriers. Generally, data are released per schedule if reports have been received from at least 90% of the carriers, along with data from all the major carriers. Regarding the release, the following carrier remains pending: Northern Air Cargo Inc. (NC). Also, within text, percent change results may not be exact due to rounding.

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